Abu Qatada

David Ruffley Excerpts

Tuesday 17th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

No, and I remind the right hon. Gentleman that the bail conditions that Abu Qatada has been on were more restrictive than a control order.

[Mr David Ruffley (Bury St Edmunds) (Con)]

I congratulate the Home Secretary on the tenacity that she has shown; it makes her a formidable Home Secretary. On the question of assurances, will she respond to the recent comment about Abu Qatada from Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights? He stated:

“There must be watertight guarantees that he should not be tried with evidence obtained under torture”.

Is that the nature of the assurance that she has received from the Jordanians?

[Mrs May]

I thank my hon. Friend for his words. I have set out a very brief description of the assurances that we have received; more details will obviously be put forward to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission at the deportation hearing. One of the key changes that has taken place in Jordan involves explicit changes to the constitution that outlaw the use of evidence that has been gained by torture.